With the harvest festival of Makara Sankranti approaching, animal rights organisations and the police are on the alert for instances of ‘animal fighting’, which is a part of traditional celebrations in rural areas.
Anticipating that fights will be conducted next week, the Humane Society International has launched a nationwide helpline (+91 7674922044) to crack down on cockfighting, dog fighting and bull fighting, banned under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
Common occurrence
“Cockfighting in particular is very common along the Karnataka coast as well as in patches of the Hyderabad–Karnataka region. Not only is there cruelty to the animal in the fights — usually, blades are attached to the legs — and there is gambling involved, these fights are cheered on and viewed by children. This leads to loss of empathy, as suffering is being cheered on by the community,” said N.G. Jayasimha, managing director of HSI India. A person can call the helpline if they have information about a scheduled animal fight. The HSI will, in turn, alert authorities and follow up on the complaint. “Over the past two years, we have created awareness about animal fighting among nearly 3,000 policemen. We will tap into this network wherever a complaint is received,” said Mr. Jayasimha.
For mapping out
While the helpline is not expected to completely eradicate animal fighting this year, the organisation hopes to “map out” places across India where animal fighting is common or practised as an annual tradition.
- Animal fights recognised as cognizable offense under Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act
Bombay High Court prohibits animal fighting in 1996; upheld by Supreme Court on May 7, 2014
